Felt-hat-brushing machine.



W. E. TURNER.

FELT HAT BRUSHING MACHINE.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

COLUMBIA PMNOORAPH co" WASHlNuroN, D. C.

W. E. TURNER.

FELT HAT BRUSHING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED DEC. 9, 1913.

1,100,460. Patented June 16, 19M

2 SHEETS-"SHEET 2. I d /k WILLIAM ERNEST TURNER, 0F BENTON, NEARMANCHESTER, ENGLAND.

FELT-HAT-BRUSHING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 16, 1914.

Application filed December 9, 1913. Serial No. 806,662.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM ERNEST TURNER, a subject of the King ofGreat Britain and Ireland, and resident of Denton, near Manchester,England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inFelt-Hat-Brushing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention refers to and consists of a new or improved constructionof machine for use in brushing felt hat bodies and the like, the machinebeing chiefly for use in raising the nap in the making of what are knownas brush or velour fur hats;

According to the invention the machine comprises essentially anarrangement of three rollers rotating adjacent to the pe riphery of arotary and, by preference, longitudinally reciprocating brushrevolvingin or above a vessel containing liquor, the arrangement being such thatthe rollers both feed the hat bodies to the brush and return them to thefront of the machine, while they also present the hats to the brush atthe most efi'ective angle or position to be acted upon for the purposeof raising the nap.

On the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 illustrates a transversesectional elevation in part) of the machine. Fig. 2 illustrates in part)a front elevation of the machine.

a a are the end frames of the machine while 6 b are the cross rails orstays secured to the end frames.

0 c 0 are the feed rollers,.the upper roller being, preferably, slightlylarger than the other rollers. The rollers are, preferably,rubber-covered and are journaled in inclined brackets or end frames (1supported from the sides a a of the machine.

cl is the brush which is mounted in bearings supported on the end framesa a The rollers 0 c 0 are adjustable relatively to each other, that isto say, the upper and lower rollers 0 c are capable of movement towardor from the roller 0 and the adjustments may be such as to allow of onlya slight pressure being put upon the hat bodies. Springs 6 normally holdthe rollers in contact with each other, while the adjusting screws 6?, eserve to allow for the pressure being increased or diminished asrequired.

In front of the lower roller 0 is a copper covered feed table f fromwhich the hat bodies to be treated are fed to the rollers. The brush clas shown, is arranged to rotate in a tank 9 containing hot liquor(usually acldulated water.) while a guard or cover it prevents theliquor being thrown off the brush d as it revolves. The liquor in thetank is heated by a steam coil 9 The floor of the tank is provided witha drain outlet 9 closed by a plug 9 It may, however, be fitted with aball cock and overflow. The brush cl is driven from shaft 2' by means ofa crossed belt. The rollers 0 0 are driven from shaft 2', via chain "7',sprocket wheel is on stud Z, further chain j further sprocket wheel 0and equal-sizedspur pinions a on the ends of the rollers, see Fig. 2.The brackets a carrying the roller bearings are adjustable by means ofscrews a toward and away from the brush (2. This adjustment allows forthe regulation of the brush action. The brush d is rotated in a reversedlrection to the roller 0 and at a higher speed. The brush a? may have arotary motion only, but it will preferably also have a longitudinalreciprocating movement. This may be obtained by means of a grooved cam'2 on the shaft '21 and a lever or connecting rod m fulcrumed at m andhaving a stud 0r bowl at one end engaging the groove in the cam, whileits other end is forked or suitably shaped to engage a groove in thebrush spindle d or a collar thereon. Thus, under the rotation of theshaft 2', the brush will receive a to and fro longitudinal motion aswell as a rotary motion.

In proceeding to treat a felt hat body, it is fed in a flattened statebetween the lower pair of rollers 0 0 After passing between theserollers the hat body passes upward and between the rollers c and 0 seeFig. 1 back into the operators hand, or on to a further copper coveredtable f arranged above the table f. While so traveling from the lower tothe upper rollers and around the middle roller, the felt is heldstretched while the brush d, which is traveling at a higher speed but inthe reverse direction, acts upon it to raise the nap. While brushing thehat body the brush also imparts the hot liquor to the hat, the brushing,heat and moisture ensuring of a practically permanent set being given tothe raised fur. The rollers 0 0 0 lie one slightly in advance ofanother, see Fig. 1 so that their surfaces will approximately follow thecurvature of the brush, and so also that the top roller 0 willpractically leave no space between it and the brush and thereby compelthe hat body to pass back between the middle and top rollers instead ofpassing over the brush.

The machine Will usually be wide enough to allow of several hat bodiesbeing passed through simultaneously. In some cases the bath of hotliquor Will not be used and reliance will be placed on the brushingonly.

While describing the machine as applied for brushing felt hat bodies, itWill be understood that it is also applicable for carroting furs and thelike for use in hat manufacture.

What I claim is In a felt hat or like brushing machine comprising incombination three rollers one above another and slightly in advance ofone another and in yielding contact with each other, the top rollerbeing slightly larger than the other tWo rollers, a rotary cylindricalbrush arranged parallel With and immediately behind the rollers, meansfor rotating the top and bottom rollers in the same direction and themiddle roller in the reverse direction, causing a hat passed between athe bottom and middle rollers at the front of the machine to pass aroundand over the middle roller and be delivered again at the front of themachine, means for imparting a rotary motion to said brush, opposite indirection to that of the middle roller and for simultaneouslyreciprocating same transversely, causing it to act upon one side of thehat as it is passed around the middle roller, substantially asdescribed.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twowitnesses.

W. ERNEST TURNER. Witnesses:

ELnoN ALFRED KING, F. C. PENNINGTON.

' Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

